15 Killed, 6 Kidnapped in Fresh Bandits’ Attack in Zamfara

The Zamfara State Police Command on Tuesday confirmed the killing of 15 persons while six others were kidnapped in Gusau Local Government Area of the state.
The police said the bandits on Monday attacked Wonaka, Ajja, Mada, Ruwan Baure, Doka, Takoka and Tudun Maijatau, all under Gusau Local Government Area.
Also on Monday, the district head of Gwashi in Bukkuyum Local Government Area reported that armed bandits stormed Batauna village and killed 11 persons.
They also set several houses ablaze, he added. The police are yet to confirm this figure.
But the police explained that details of the attack in Bukkuyum were still sketchy due to the area’s inaccessibility and lack of GSM coverage.
The command spokesperson, Muhammad Shehu, stated this in a statement on Tuesday.
He added that the six abducted women had regained their freedom.
He also said normalcy had been restored to the affected villages with the deployment of special forces and the military.
He said the attack was presumably a reprisal, in reaction to an earlier attack on some Fulani on January 1.
In the attack, he said seven Fulani and some cows were killed and set ablaze by an outlawed group- “Yansakai”.
“Units of PMF/CTU/Special Forces and Military were mobilised to complement the effort of security personnel already on the ground,” he said.
”The entire axis and environs have been subjected to coordinate bush combing for possible arrest of the perpetrators.
“The command calls on members of the public to avoid taking laws into their hands but report all complaint and grievances to a constituted authority for legal redress.
“Discreet investigation into this act has already commenced, and all perpetrators will be fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law,” Shehu said.